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Maine Manufacturer Grows

Waterville Window Co. Inc. will expand its factory by about 10,000 square feet to accommodate raw materials that are currently being housed off-site. The Winslow, Maine, producer of vinyl windows expects the project, likely to be completed in September, may add six positions to its employee roster of 36 full-time workers.

“We were using too much of our manufacturing facility for storage,” company president Donald J. Shirley told the local newspaper. The company currently has two off-site storage facilities, causing truck drivers to have to stop at three locations when the main production facility is factored in. The expansion will eliminate the need for the other storage facilities and allow the company more manufacturing floor space.

Waterville Window had sales last year of about $3 million, the paper notes, selling 11 new construction and replacement window systems to New England region retailers. In addition to vinyl window lines, the company offers vinyl railing and fencing materials, and is a distributor of Impression Brand aluminum windows.

The company utilizes cross-training methodology to keep its workforce employed year-round, even when production slows significantly in the winter months. Shirley has pushed the company down the path of automation with the addition in recent years of advanced equipment.

“We have automated the shop a lot since 1998,” he says. “We’ve spent a little over $1 million in new machinery updating the shop.”